BIOGRAPHY
Derrick Ballard / Bass-baritone
Bass-baritone Derrick Ballard has appeared with major opera companies and
orchestras across Europe and North America, to great acclaim. For his recent role
debut as Kaspar in Der Freischütz, Opera News wrote: “The hero of both evenings
was Gärtnerplatz newcomer Derrick Ballard, whose Caspar was sung with
extraordinary fullness of tone, and whose acting painted a brilliant picture of outer
self-confidence and inner conflict.” With his “warm and multi-faceted” voice
(Opernwelt), he is equally comfortable on the opera and concert stage, excelling in
music ranging from Baroque to modern, and in May 2010 he received the biennial
Erna Schlüter Prize for exceptional vocal accomplishment.
In the 2010-2011 season Derrick Ballard makes his debut at the Staatstheater am
Gärtnerplatz in Munich as Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, and also appears as Kaspar in
Der Freischütz, Celio in The Love for Three Oranges, and the Bonze in Madama
Butterfly. At the Oldenburgisches Staatstheater he makes his role debut as Wotan in
Die Walküre and returns as Méphistophélès in Gounod’s Faust. On the concert
stage, he makes his debut at the Handel Festival in Halle as the bass soloist in An
Occasional Oratorio with the English Concert (Howard Arman, conductor). During
the 2009-2010 season he sang Leporello in Don Giovanni, Bohnsack in Die Welt auf
dem Mond, Méphistophélès in Gounod’s Faust, Major-General Stanley in The Pirates
of Penzance (Oldenburgisches Staatstheater), Mustafà in L’Italiana in Algeri
(Deutsche Oper am Rhein) and the title role in Handel’s Hercules (Bühnen der Stadt
Gera) under the baton of Howard Arman. On the concert stage, he presented
Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (Neue Philharmonie Frankfurt), Carmina Burana
(Kasseler Konzertchor), Martin’s In Terra Pax and Charpentier’s Te Deum
(Oldenburgisches Staatsorchester).
Highlights of recent seasons include Leporello in Don Giovanni, the title role in
Handel’s Hercules, Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Dulcamara in L’elisir
d’amore, Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, Joas in Porpora’s Il Gedeone (Staatstheater
Kassel), and Mustafà in L’Italiana in Algeri (Staatsoper Hannover, Staatstheater
Kassel, Oper der Stadt Bonn, Theater Dortmund). Mr. Ballard made his European
debut as Biterolf in Tannhäuser at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, and
returned to create the roles of Toolhoolsuite and the Fifth Indian in the world
premiere of Hans Zender’s Chief Joseph.
Mr. Ballard’s prior engagements include Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte (Townsend
Opera), Baron Mirko Zeta in Die lustige Witwe (Emerald City Opera), and world
premiere performances of Anniversary by Edward Ficklin (Voyeur Theater Ensemble)
and The Captivation of Eunice Williams by Paula Kimper (Old Deerfield Productions).
He has sung Giovanni in Il corsaro and Lord Rochefort in Anna Bolena (Opera
Orchestra of New York), Collatinus in The Rape of Lucretia (Merola Opera Program),
Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia (OperaDelaware, Bronx Opera), and Angelotti in
Tosca (OperaDelaware). He has performed Captain Zaretsky in Eugene Onegin and
Curio in Giulio Cesare (Opera Theater of Connecticut), Alessio in La Sonnambula
(Bel Canto at Caramoor), and the title role in Le nozze di Figaro (Opera Company of
Brooklyn). A strong advocate of contemporary music, Mr. Ballard has created roles
in eight new operas, and is a founding performing member of the New York
Composers Circle.
He has appeared as the Imperial Commissioner in Madama Butterfly and the
Speaker, First Priest, and Second Armored Man in Die Zauberflöte (Colorado Opera
Festival). As a member of the Joseph and Loretta Law Artist Center at Opera
Colorado he covered the Speaker, First Priest, and Second Armored Man in Die
Zauberflöte and Banco in Macbeth, and on the main stage sang Il medico in Macbeth
and Paris in Roméo et Juliette. As an apprentice at the Santa Fe Opera, he sang the
Cappadocian in Salome, the Commissioner in La Traviata and Djura in Arabella, and
covered the Imperial Commissioner in Madama Butterfly and the First Nazarene in
Salome. He participated two consecutive years in the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice
Tour, singing El Prior in La Dolorosa and Tom/John in The Face On the Barroom
Floor.
In concert, he has appeared with the Dallas Symphony as Angelotti in Tosca
(Myerson Symphony Center, Vail Music Festival) and as Nourabad in Les pêcheurs
de Perles with the State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra. His repertoire also includes
Handel’s Messiah (Navy Chorus, Santa Fe Symphony, Boulder Philharmonic),
Mozart’s Requiem and the Christmas Oratorio by Saint-Saëns (St. Luke’s Orchestra).
Mr. Ballard has been a featured soloist with the Kasseler Konzertchor, Princeton
Composers’ Ensemble, American Opera Projects, Neale Concert Series, Caramoor
Music Festival, New York Composers Circle, Rocky Mountain Chorale, and the
American Institute for Verdi Studies. He is frequently featured in recital, and has
premiered several new works for bass soloist and chamber ensemble.
Derrick Ballard was a semi-finalist at the Competizione dell’Opera in Dresden, a
Rothman Award winner at the Connecticut Opera Guild Competition, and a Finalist at
the Metropolitan Opera Eastern Region National Council Auditions.
Stand: 2011